Which system is more complex: a modern jumbo jet or an E Coli cell?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I know this is ambiguous. Say, which system requires a more complex math model (like in control theory). Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Probably the E Coli cell. That would be my guess, anyway.</p>

3

<p>gosh ! i am a first year community college student and i so want to know that what they are</p>

4

<p>I am an engineer. I also had a few biology courses in college. The mechanisms of protein synthesis and function within any living cell are way more complex than any purely non-living system. Protein synthesis is not the only cellular process.</p>

<p>This is not to say that modern aircraft are simple. They are very complex and we do not know and understand everything about them even though we build and use them everyday.</p>

<p>The introductory biology courses make cellular metabolism seem much simplier than it is. Of course an introduction to aeronautical engineering makes that seem simplier than it is.</p>

5

<p>(Who’s a better engineer? Us or [God/billions of years’ worth of evolution]?)</p>

6

<p><a href=“Who’s%20a%20better%20engineer?%20Us%20or%20%5BGod/billions%20of%20years’%20worth%20of%20evolution%5D?”>quote</a>

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<p>Very well put.</p>

7

<p>Depends on how you look at it. If we’re talking about every little thing that goes on inside an E Coli cell down to the protein synthesis mechanisms compared to “this is how to build a jumbo jet and here’s a rough outline for why it works” then the cell is more complex. If we’re talking about the specifics of metal fatigue, specifics of how the engine works, specifics of how the circuitry and computers in the jet work, it’s a lot closer. I don’t know if the cell is actually any more complex all things considered or just so much harder to study due to size.</p>